The One I'll Always Love
by mizzangsty88
Summary: Chapter 9 up. DMHG. Draco stays at Hermione's house during the summer while Pansy and Harry plot revenge. And who is this tall lady staying with Dumbledore? Read on to find out! Please RR
1. Broken Hearts

The One I'll Always Love Chapter One -Breaking Hearts  
  
Draco was walking through the halls of Hogwarts. Nothing special, nothing new. It was June 5th; school was to end in less than a month. The summer was about to begin, and everyone in Hogwarts was celebrating. Even Snape had let up on the N.E.W.T.s level Potions homework-an especially amazing occurence because the "Boy-Who-Lived" was, amazingly enough, in that class, along with Draco, Hermione Granger, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Terry Boot and Padma Patil. Draco hated his classmates, well, except Blaise. Without Blaise to help him make fun of St. Potter and his pet mudblood, that class would be pure hell. But all that was about to change for Draco. As he rounded the corner, he heard quiet sobbing. He looked around, only to find Miss Teacher's Pet herself. Her face was red and covered with her unchecked tears. "What's wrong, Muddy? Did St. Pothead and the Weasel finally wise up and leave you? Or did your precious Old Man Dumbledore bite the dust?" Draco taunted. Hermione jumped, unaware anyone was even there. When she realized who it was, she glared hatefully and replyed, "No." She tried to keep a fresh wave of tears from flowing again, but she couldn't. Filled with a surprize and sudden feeling of sympathy, Draco asked softly, "Then why are you crying?" Hermione glanced up to see whether Draco was trying to get her to fall for some sort of trick. Deciding that he didn't have any ill wishes towards her- at least not right now-she answered ,"Harry and Ron have gone missing and my Grandad just died. I don't know what to do. None of the locating spells I've tried have worked for Harry and Ron and no spell in invention can bring my Grandad back. He was the only one who understood me Malfoy. The only one. He understood my love of knowledge and of great literature. He bought me my first Tolkien novel. My first encyclopedia of Literature. Without him, I'll be...lost." Draco stood there, not sure of what to do. Then, he did the one thing that came to mind; he hugged her. Both were obviously surprised by his action, but both knew that it felt, well, right.  
  
"I understand you. I think I always have." Draco whispered. "Now, Granger, about Pothead and the Weasel. You said they're missing and that no spell you've tried so far has worked?" Hermione pulled back from Draco and wiped her eyes, replying, "Yes, that's right." "Well, have you tired any of the Dark Locator spells? No? Typical goody-goody. Alright. I'll need something of both of the missing persons'. As I'm obviously not allowed in Gryffindor Tower, you'll have to get that. Meet me right back here in an hour. I'll bring everything else I need." Hermione looked at him in sheer, undisguised shock. "You're, you're helping me? But, but why?" "Because a Malfoy always helps someone they care about. We need our allies too you know. OK, right back here in one hour." Draco stood up and waited for what he'd said to sink in. Hermione looked up at him and smiled, nodding. She jumped up and ran off to Gryffindor Tower to get what Draco had asked for. Draco sighed and said to himself, "Draco Orion Malfoy, you're going soft. What would Lucius say if he had seen you a minute ago?" Draco laughed softly as he pictured his father's mixed look of horror and anger, then he walked back to his own tower to gather the other ingredients he needed to help the lovely Hermione Granger.  
  
One hour later...  
  
Draco arrived back at the designated spot, only to find Hermione there, paitently waiting for him. "Malfoy-" "Please, Draco. I'll even call you Hermione." "Oh! Alright. Draco, how do I know you aren't going to mess this up on purpose, just so that Harry and Ron aren't ever found? I mean, you can't tell me that you haven't at least thought of it." Draco looked at her in shock. "Madamoiselle Granger, you have cut me deep. I must admit that the thought crossed my mind, but with my steadily growing independence from my father and his cronies, I need allies. How, may I ask, am I supposed to do that if I stab them all in the back?" Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute before shrugging. "OK then, now that we've all agreed I have good intentions-" "For once." muttered Hermione. Draco rolled his eyes before continuing, "As I was saying, I have good intentions for this. Now, to start. I see you have the personal items. Good. I have the blood of an enemy and the hair of a friend. Then, put the items in the cauldron along with the blood. Good. I'll put the hair on top. Alright, now i say the spell and we wait. 'Li odio, tuttavia devono essere trovati. Aiutilo alcoolici scuri a trovare i miei nemici mortali!' OK, waiting time." Draco sighed and sat down next to Hermione. "Mortal enemies? Is this a spell that can be used to find mortal enemies? And I didn't know you spoke Italian." Draco laughed at her expression. "Well, yes, it can be used to find mortal enemies, unless they know the signs that they are being tracked by it and therefore know to how to stop it. The Dark Lord has been tracking St. Potter for over a year now and Potter has yet to notice, so I doubt he will know how to stop it. As for the Italian, Il mio amore, parlo più appena italiano. Inoltre parlo la lingua di passione ed amo insegnare che ad altri, se capite il mio significato." Hermione gasped. Then retorted in her own perfect Italian, "Ho capito che ogni parola di quella e dell'io deve dire, io ha sempre amava imparare le nuove lingue." Draco smirked and said, "I'm a good teacher." The two of them leaned closer together, neither one sure of how far the other was willing to go. Finally, Draco couldn't take it anymore. He pressed his lips against Hermione's, begging for entrance. She complied willingly. They suddenly heard Harry's voice and broke apart abruptly. "Hermione, I know where they are. Look." She looked into the cauldron and saw a pale and bloody Harry shaking an even paler Ron. "Ron! Ron! Get up! We have to get out of here! Ron!" Hermione gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Draco! We, we have to help them! Where are they? Where are they?" "Hermione, relax. I know where they are. They are at Malfoy Manor. My father must have somehow brought them there. Don't worry. I know what to do. I can Apparate, so I'll fly out on my broomstick until I get to the Hogwarts boundaries. Then I'll Apparate to where they are. I'll Apparate with them back to Hogsmeade. Then we can take one of the secret passageways. I'll be quick, I promise." Draco grabbed her hands in his and kissed her fingertips. "Hermione Granger, what have you done? I'm going soft." Draco stood to go and carry out his plan when he heard Hermione softly crying. "B-but, isn't Apparating with more than one person very dangerous? And didn't you already give up alot of blood to make this potion thingy? I'm not an idiot Draco. I knew you would have had alot of explaining to do if you tried to get anyone else's blood and you needed the 'blood of an enemy'. I just don't want you to get hurt." Draco, although apparently touched by what she had said, was adamant that he stick to his paln. "I'll be fine. And so will they. I promise." Draco then disappeared down one of Hogwarts' many long and dark hallways, leaving Hermione alone with her tears and her breaking heart. 


	2. Dying Souls

A/N: yea, I know. I forgot the disclaimer. Oops...don't sue me...please? LOL Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and my own twisted ideas...although I wouldn't mind if Draco was mine...or Tom Felton, I'll take either.  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Two: Dying Souls  
  
Hermione knew Draco was too weak. She knew she should have stopped him. But something held her back. Something told her he *had* to do this, even if not for her, for himself. But all Hermione could do now was hope Draco and her two best friends got home safely. She trudged back to her dorm; eyes full of tears, a heart full of woe and too many thoughts roaming her mind. 'Why did he kiss me? And call me his love? He can't-he doesn't like me that way. I just know it. He's just doing you a favor.' Even though she had convinced herself that he never meant anything by what he had said, a nagging voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she was happy about what he had said.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
At Malfoy Manor, Draco arrived with a POP! and promptly dropped to his knees exhausted. 'Maybe I should have listened to Hermione. I may not be able to Apparate myself back to Hogwarts, let alone two other sixth years. I doubt I'll even be able to stand up against my father should the need arise.' Draco slowly got to his feet and looked around, knowing he was near where he had seen Harry and Ron. Knowing better than to yell out their names on his father's property, Draco searched silently in his animagus form-no one would recognize the pure white wolf as the sixth year Slytherin prefect. Draco the wolf crept quietly towards where he had seen the two Gryffindors earlier. When he got there, he reverted back to his human form. He saw faint traces of blood on the ground marking where Ron had been only moments before. "Never thought I'd live to see the day that I was helping a Gryffindor." murmured Draco. "I didn't either." said a silky-sounding voice from inside the woods. Draco whirled around only to face his leering father. "Father, fancy meeting you here." sneered Draco. "You're surprised? This is my property after all. I am rather surprised that you dare show yourself here though. Fraternizing with the enemy. And a mudblood. Your mother would die of shame if she weren't already dead. I tell you what though. To prove to me and the Dark Lord that you're still on the correct side of the war, bring me the head of the mudblood girl and I shall return the two traitors of the wizarding world to you." replied Lucius. "Yea, like hell you will. I'm not gonna kill the only person I could or would ever love just for you to not give me Potter and Weasley." Lucius stood there, mouth agape at what Draco had just admitted. "You...you're in love with a-a mudblood? A Gryffindor mudblood too. O my head." Draco rolled his eyes at his father's melodramatics. "However, you are still my son, so I should help you get over this mudblood-loving disease of yours. Crucio!" Draco screamed in agony as his weakened body was hit with the most painful curse his father knew. Draco, who had been trained to ignore pain at all costs, fell, for the first time ever, to his knees as his 'loving' father hit him with the Cruciatious Curse for the second time. Lucius, pretending to not enjoy his son's suffering, put a fake look of sympathy. Mr. Malfoy removed the curse and said with a sneer "You know better Draco. What else am I supposed to do? Accept it?" Lucius laughed evilly as Draco struggled to his feet. A noise in the forest at Lucius' back caused the older Malfoy to whirl around, giving Draco enough time to yell "Stupefy!" at Lucius' now unprotected back. Mr. Malfoy fell to the ground. Draco staggered over to the sound, somehow knowing that when he found its source, he would find Potter and Weasley. He was right. Huddled in the corner were a very scratched-up Harry and a very pale Ron. Draco said softly "I'm here to help. Herm-Granger is blackmailing me into it. Now, can either of you Apparate?" Seeing both boys shake their heads, Draco sighed. "Alright, hang onto my arms and do not, I repeat, do NOT let go. OK, hang on." Harry held onto Draco's left arm and Ron held the right. Back at Hogwarts...  
  
Hermione was pacing the Great Hall anxiously waiting for Draco and her two best friends. She had no idea which passageway they would travel through, so she waited impatiently near where she and Draco had met earlier. Suddenly she heard a panicked cry of "O my God! Somebody! Quick, help!" The cry came from just outside the door. Hermione ran as fast as she could and threw open the big doors. There she saw Harry and Ron bent over an unconscious Draco. Hermione felt her heart stop in her chest as she gasped. Harry turned and said "He saved us. We have to get him to the Hospital Wing. Hurry!" He and Ron gathered the bloody, bruised and exhausted Draco past Hermione, leaving her alone with her slowing dying soul. 


	3. Bent and Broken Wings Can Still Learn to...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and my own twisted ideas.  
  
A/N: thanx sooo much to Guitar Gurl and Gothic-Cutie-Blues for reviewing- keep it up please!...this chapter is for u guys...as for what they said in Italian- 'Li odio, tuttavia devono essere trovati. Aiutilo alcoolici scuri a trovare I miei nemici mortali' basically means 'help me find my mortal enemies with the help of this potion' 'Il mio amore, parlo più appena italiano. Inoltre parlo la lingua di passione ed amo insegnare che ad altri, se capite il mio significato' means 'my love, of course I speak Italian. However I also speak the language of passion, and have always enjoyed teaching it to others, if you understand me' 'Ho capito che ogni parola di quella e dell'io deve dire, io ha sempre amava imparare le nuove lingue' means 'I understood all of that and I must say I've always enjoyed learning new languages'  
  
ok, here's the new chapter...keep reviewing!  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Three: Bent and Broken Wings Can Still Learn to Fly  
  
Hermione soon gathered herself off the floor and ran off to the Hospital Wing to see Draco. The shape he was in was horrendous and looked very serious. His arms were hanging too limp when Harry had picked him up of the ground. His face even paler than normal. All in all, he looked as if he were knocking on death's door. Hermione felt tears slide down her face as she ran; tears for her once arch-nemesis. Hermione reached the Hospital Wing in record time. Her heart fell as she saw the curtains drawn around Draco's bed. Harry and Ron hovered nearby, looking a little worse for the wear, but nothing too serious. Harry had a long gash on his cheek and Ron cradled his apparently broken wrist to his chest. Ron was the first to notice Hermione. He saw the color in her cheeks disappear as she took in her current surroundings. She looked panicked, heart-broken, and as though nothing could ever be OK again. Ron walked slowly over to her and she noticed he was limping slightly. "He saved us you know. Told us you blackmailed him into it. He Apparated us here with the last bit of his strength I shouldn't wonder. Lucius used the Cruciatus on him a few times and it was easy to see he was already in dire need of medical assistance when he got to Malfoy Manor in the first place." Ron whispered. Hermione looked at him, her large amber eyes filling with tears. "It's all my fault. I should've made him wait. The potion we used to find you needed the 'blood of an enemy' and so he used his own. Then he Disapparated to Malfoy Manor. I told him to stop; it was too dangerous. But, but he wouldn't listen to me." Hermione turned to Ron's shoulder and started sobbing softly. Madam Pomfrey came out from behind the curtain. "He's in a bad way I'm afraid. He'll live, but he's in a bad way indeed right now." She motioned to Harry and Ron to follow her to another section of the wing, the turned to Hermione saying "You can go see him if you like. He might wake, he might not. Just be careful with him now dearie." Hermione dried her tears and walked slowly around the curtain, both wanting to see Draco and fearing that it would be so horrific she would cry out and awaken him. She peeked her head in and saw a sight so sad it brought another wave of tears to her eyes. Draco lay with his head bandaged, his left arm in a sling, his right ankle propped up on a stack of pillows and almost his whole torso covered with thick white bandages. Hermione, knowing a loud cry would get her kicked out, dragged a chair next to the right side of the bed. Carefully, she lifted Draco's large hand and placed her's in it. Her tears were now flowing freely. She held Draco's hand close to her face when she heard a soft, cracked voice mutter, "Shouldn't do that. You're getting my hand all wet." Hermione looked down in surprise. "D-d-draco? B-but...oh my God. What happened?" Draco looked up at her and smiled sadly. "I was attacked by my own father. But enough about that, Harry and Ron are safe back here at Hogwarts. Now let me see you smile. Good. Now, tell me why you are so anxious to hear what happened to me? A week ago you wouldn't have given a shit if I'd fallen off the earth. Now you're here freaking out over a few scratches that aren't gonna kill me anyways." Draco said. Hermione gulped nervously; she hadn't planned on telling Draco how she felt about him yet. "I...uh...I guess I was just worried about you. You did help me find Harry and Ron. So, uh, yeah. That's the reason." Hermione finished with a guilty looking smile. Draco looked at her with a hurt pout on his gorgeous face. "That's not the reason. If you want to be friends...-or more-I'm game. But if you don't just say so. That way I can go back to my slowly breaking heart in peace." Hermione stared open-mouthed at Draco after what she had just heard him say. "You, you like me? Like that? But, why? You're the hottest guy at Hogwarts! You could have any girl you wanted with just one flash of that adorable smirk of yours. And you want the truth? I am like, in LOVE with you! I have been since 3rd year! When I slapped you, it was out of frustration because I thought you could never like me the way I held feelings for you. So, so there. That's why I was so upset. It would kill me if something that I should've been able to do myself got you in trouble. As it is I feel dreadful. I know I never touched you, but every scratch, every cut, every bruise on your body...I feel like I am the one who did this to you. And I did, indirectly, I almost got you killed. Draco, I hate myself for this, and if you hate me too I understand completely. I love you Draco, and I want you to know that." Draco stared at her for a moment and said softly "I love you too. I have since 4th year. At the Yule Ball, I saw you as a real human being. At first I convinced myself it was because of your natural beauty. I now realize cursing your teeth was the best thing I could've ever done for you. Anyways, I later realized it wasn't your beauty I was falling in love with; it was your poise, your grace, your wisdom. I began to admire your feats instead of loathe them. And I'm now glad I did. You are the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth in my opinion, but that's only an added bonus in this situation. Will you do me the honor of being mine? Not that I could ever own you. You're too free for that." Draco ended with a small after thought. "I could never, ever, hate you. I never really did. My father convinced me I did, but it was him working through me that hated you, not the real me." Hermione's face broke into a wide grin and she said happily "Of course I'll be yours! And of course I can be owned by angel like you!" Draco shook his head and muttered, "I'm no angel. If I was, my wings must be pretty beat up and broken; never able to fly again." Hermione suddenly looked very serious and she said "Even bent and broken wings can heal and be re-taught to fly, to soar above all others. And I'll even help you." Draco smiled and drew Hermione closer to him as best as he could with his one hand. Their lips brushed each other softly, then pressed together harder. Hermione could feel Draco wanted to go further than that, but she knew the nurse might come back any moment and that Draco was still much too weak to exert himself in any way. She drew back slowly, receiving a slightly disappointed glare from Draco. She smiled innocently before standing. She turned to go, then rushed back over to him saying "I'll be back later, I promise. And every day till you're 110% better." She got up again and, leaning over, kissed him softly on each cheek, then the lips. As she left, she heard Draco mutter "Ah, she kisses Italian too." Hermione laughed softly, then went to fetch the nurse to inform her of Draco's awakening, as well as see Harry and Ron.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
A few beds over, Madame Pomfrey was bent over Ron, apparently making sure his ankle was OK. He had obviously twisted his ankle and broken his wrist, as well as a few minor cuts on his face and a couple of bruised ribs. Harry was still waiting for Madame Pomfrey to check him, so he stood and walked back over to Draco's bed. It was common knowledge among the 6th year Gryffindor boys that Harry and Ron both had crushes on Hermione. Ron had dated her briefly earlier that year, but after they had broken up on, what Hermione called "mutual", terms, she had vowed never to date one of her best friends, for fear it would damage their friendship if they had a nasty break-up. So it was understandable that Harry was shocked when he heard Hermione confess to liking Malfoy. Harry stopped in his tracks and strained to hear more. He could hear Hermione still talking and so leaned closer to hear exactly what she said. "Draco, I hate myself for this, and if you hate me too I understand completely. I love you Draco, and I want you to know that." Harry felt his heart shattering in his chest as he heard that. He knew he should leave, heck, he wanted to, but something made him stay; he wanted to hear how Draco responded. "I love you too." Harry shook his head, 'Did I just hear that?' Harry, in complete disarray, zoned out for the rest of the conversation, but when he heard the voices stop, he peeked around the corner, only to find his crush and his one of his worst enemies kissing each other. Harry had had enough; he stormed back to his bed, hating everyone and everything. As soon as Madame Pomfrey told him he needed to have that gash treated, as well as his almost dislocated knee, he jumped to his feet and stormed out of the Hospital Wing, leaving a very confused Ron and an irritated Madame Pomfrey behind him. He ran into Hermione on the way out and hissed "How could you?" before leaving her in the hall, wondering what the hell she did wrong. 


	4. Midnight Meetings and Damaged Friendship...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and my own twisted ideas.  
  
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote anything; I just got back from spring vacation Friday and then my internet service was being very stupid and idiotic and stuff. So yea . . . anywho, thanx so much to wantedin36states for reviewing, all reviews are greatly appreciated and wanted. O, by the way, if I put something in asterisks, that means the word being spoken is getting emphasis from the character speaking. OK, back to Draco and Hermione . . .  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Four: Midnight Meetings and Damaged Friendships  
  
After Harry stormed past her, Hermione turned around to see a still limping Ron walking over to her. She turned to Ron with a question in her voice, asking, "What did I do? Did I, did I say something wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Ron sighed and calmly explained "Harry has a huge crush on you Mione. I'm at a loss that you haven't noticed it. But, seeing you so worried about Draco and not as much about us, especially him, kinda pushed him off the edge I guess. I realize that you probably didn't mean for it to appear that way, but it did and does still. I also realize that he was in a noticeably worse condition than either Harry or I was in. So I don't blame you, although Harry does. And one more thing, just let him cool off, he'll be back with open arms within a few days tops. After he broke up with Parvati a few months ago, he was in a weird mood for weeks, but they're friends again now that she's stopped feeling so guilty over the mood he was in. He'll come back to you, I promise, just don't go making out with Draco in front of him, k?" Ron then leaned over and kissed the top of Hermione's head before hobbling out the door. Hermione sighed sadly as she walked over to Madame Pomfrey's office. "Madame Pomfrey? Um, I just wanted to let you know that Draco's awake now. He was talking to me and everything." The nurse came out of her office with tears in her eyes. "My dear, I do believe it wise that you are with Mr. Malfoy at this time. I have just received some bad news regarding his family. His mother was just found dead. She committed suicide." Hermione gasped. She turned to look at Draco's bed, before asking the nurse softly, "Are, are you sure? He, he'll be crushed. He doesn't seem to get along with his father very well and-" "Miss Granger. I am full aware of his relationship problems with Lucius Malfoy. And Draco will not be left alone. He has a few aunts and uncles who will be more than happy to take him in. I'm sure." Hermione snorted. "Yea, the Lestranges and the Tonkses. And I guess relatives of Lucius'. Great choices he has. He'd be better off here or with a friend over the summer." Madame Pomfrey looked at Hermione carefully for a moment before, "all-right Miss Granger, I'll mention that to Professor Dumbledore. In the meantime, go back to Mr. Malfoy, I'll join you two momentarily." Hermione nodded and walked back to Draco. She sat back in her chair from before and gazed at the angelic face of the seemingly sleeping Draco. She jumped a foot in the air when he murmured "You sure were gone awhile. I thought you left me. I heard Potter yelling at you. I hope it wasn't my fault. If it was, I'm dreadfully sorry. Uh, why the long face Mione? You don't mind if I call you that do you? Um? What's wrong?" Hermione looked at him sadly. "Madame Pomfrey is coming over in a minute. She'll tell you." Draco looked aghast at Hermione's downcast expression. "Hermione? Oh my God, tell me, please. What's the matter? You look as upset as you did when I found you earlier. I'm not dying am I? 'Cause that would really suck if I died right after I confessed my undying love to you. Which I might add is true. Can you please tell me what happened?" Hermione brushed away the traces of tears from her eyes. "No Draco, you're not dying. But, someone you know; someone close to you died. Madame Pomfrey will tell you the rest, I only got the gist of it." Hermione stopped as Madame Pomfrey came over to Draco's bed. "Miss Granger, can you leave us for a minute? I have some pumpkin juice and a tray of sandwiches in my office. I'll call for you when you may come back over here." Hermione nodded and rose from her seat. Draco looked at her questioningly as she left. Hermione bowed her head so that she wouldn't have to look into his icy silver-blue eyes. Madame Pomfrey sat in Hermione's now empty seat and started telling Draco about his mother.  
  
15 minutes later . . .  
  
"Hermione dear, you may go back to Draco now. Comfort him for a little while, then I must ask you to let him rest." Hermione nodded then asked tentatively, "I was wondering, since he'll obviously be distraught, could I perhaps stay the night here? In another bed of course." Madame Pomfrey looked skeptical for a moment before sighing and replying "I'll go talk to Professor Dumbledore while you're with Draco. If he says it is all right, you may stay. If Draco wants you here of course. I know that in the past you two haven't been the best of friends, so if at anytime he wants you to leave, promise me you will. Understand?" Hermione nodded quickly. "I'll go see Dumbledore now. You go talk to Mr. Malfoy." Hermione walked over to Draco's bed. He was sitting propped up on some pillows. He turned his head to the Gryffindor girl at the foot of his bed. No traces of his trademark smirk showed on his face and his normally arrogant eyes were filled with bitter tears that had yet to fall. He reached out to her helplessly, not knowing where to turn. Hermione rushed to his side and wrapped her arms gently around him. Completely atypical from his normal behavior, he was obviously in a deep internal pain. He started quietly sobbing on Hermione's shoulder, his eyes red and bleary. "Hermione, don't leave me. Don't leave me. She was all I had. Sure, she was cold-hearted to most people and probably appeared a real bitch, but she was my mum. She protected me from my Dad. My, my dad said earlier 'your mother would die of shame if she weren't already dead'. I didn't understand what he meant then and was too preoccupied with him attacking me and stuff to worry about that. I thought maybe he mis-spoke or something. But, now I know that she's, she's gone. Don't leave me Mione. Don't ever go away. I want you with me forever." Hermione felt tears sliding down her own cheeks as Draco said this. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." The two of them simply sat there for the longest time, neither moving. Draco finally pulled away from the embrace and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "She, she wouldn't want me to cry over her like this. She would tell me it was another weakness that my dad would focus on. She would tell me to 'Be strong no matter what gets thrown my way'. O God, Hermione, what am I gonna do this summer? I haven't seen my Aunt Andromeda in years and I don't like my Aunt Bellatrix and Uncle Rodolphus. They're just as evil as my father. I could go see if my Aunt Cassiopeia will take me in. Although she hasn't been in the area in close to ten years. But she is my godmother, so maybe she'll come ba-" Hermione silenced him with a kiss planted squarely on his lips. His tongue brushed up against her closed lips, teasing her mercilessly. She parted her lips slowly and gave him entrance. Their tongues struggled for dominance as Hermione and Draco deepened the kiss. Hermione ran one of her hands through Draco's golden locks as her other hand was pressed against his muscled chest. Draco on the other hand, used his good hand to draw her closer to him. "Hem hem." The two 6th years jumped in the air as Draco blurted out "O my God! Umbridge is back!" Hermione whirled around to see a bemused Pomfrey. "Well, I see you're feeling better Draco. Hermione, Dumbledore has said it will be all right for you to stay here tonight and possibly tomorrow night if need be. That is, of course, if you limit the snog sessions to a minimum, all right?" Hermione nodded sheepishly. Madame Pomfrey continued "OK, give this note to Professor McGonagall and return here in your pajamas with a change of clothes for the morning. And don't forget, lights go out no later than 11:30. Good night you two." Hermione waited for the nurse to turn the corner before she gave Draco a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered, "I'll be right back. Then we can possibly continue our previous activities. That is, unless you're too injured to get so down and dirty." Draco winked at her and replied with a playfully seductive whisper "I've never been known to deny a lady her share of Draco. And I don't plan on starting now." Hermione rolled her eyes and ran off to get her things.  
  
Meanwhile, back in Gryffindor Tower . . .  
  
"I don't give a damn if she bloody shags every other boy in the school! I just don't want her near him! He'll use her. I know it. What if he rapes her? Or abuses her? I can't stand to see her hurt in any way. And I know that's what he'll do to her!" Harry yelled. The entirety of the Gryffindor House had gathered in the common room to see Harry Potter and Ron Weasley duke it out. Which looked like it would happen anytime now. "Harry settle down. Please. She has the right to like whoever she wants. I can't say I'm happy with her current choice of guys and I wish like heck she coulda picked you or decided to try going out with me again. But I can't pick her crush any more than you can or even she can. You gotta except it man. Who knows, maybe ferret boy will turn around after some Mione lovin'." Ron interjected. Harry glared hatefully at his best friend before balling up his fist and punching Ron squarely in the jaw. The entire common room gasped as the power behind the attack knocked Ron over. Ginny ran out of the crowd and bent over her brother, who appeared to be sporting a dislocated or even broken jaw. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Harry's sleeve, pulling him into a nearby corner. "Harry, how could you? He was only joking! And besides, what on earth could be making you this testy? If you were a girl, I'd blame it on PMS or something. But since you're a guy, I can't. Please, tell me what's wrong." Harry grit his teeth before answering peevishly "Hermione likes a ferret." Harry left Ginny standing there open mouthed as he walked back toward the common room door. Before he got there however, the portrait swung open and a slightly irritated Professor McGonagall and a confused looking Hermione walked in. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and gave the Gryffindor prefect a betrayed look before stalking off in the opposite direction toward the 6th year boys' dormitory. Professor McGonagall took one look around the room and demanded "What on earth happened here? The sooner I'm answered, the sooner we can all get back to whatever we were doing." Ginny stepped forward and said timidly "We heard shouting so we all came to see what was wrong. Harry and Ron were arguing over something, or someone. None of us knows what started it. Then Ron said something to Harry that none of us could hear. So Harry socked him." McGonagall sighed softly and shook her head. "All right. I'll speak with Mr. Potter in the morning. Right now however, I want Miss Granger to do as Madame Pomfrey asked, then walk down to the Hospital Wing with Mr. Weasley. All right everyone, to bed! Now!" And with that, the head of Gryffindor house crossed to the portrait entrance and left. Hermione turned to Ginny and asked "OK, what *really* happened?" Ginny sighed and pulled the older girl away from the rest of the crowd. "OK, to make this easier on you, I'll be blunt: Harry has a huge crush on you. And it appears he thinks you like Malfoy. Which I know isn't true. I mean, you *hate* him. Anyway, Ron said something about how some 'Mione lovin' might make Malfoy turn around." Ginny stopped as she saw the hurt look on Hermione's face. "Mione? What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Hermione simply nodded. Ginny thought over what she had just told the Gryffindor prefect as her mistake dawned on her. "You, you like Malfoy? Like *that*?" Hermione looked up with hurt eyes, betrayed as a result of the other girls attitude toward Draco. "Ginny, I don't know where to start telling you what's going on. I, I think I'm in love with him. He makes me feel like no other guy. I'm happier when I'm near him. It may not always show, it may never show, but I am. He helped me find your brother and Harry earlier today. Without asking 'What's in it for me?' or something similar that we'd all expect from him. And, he said he loves me. Ron never told me that. Viktor never told me that. No one *ever* has. I'm sorry if you're as against this as Harry obviously is. I truly am. Because I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready to go back to the Hospital Wing." Hermione turned on her heel and strode over to the steps leading up to the girls' dorms. She stomped up the stairs and literally threw open the door, slamming it behind her. Ginny sighed sadly. "Mione, I hope for your sake he isn't lying." The younger Gryffindor walked slowly toward her brother, wishing this whole thing hadn't gotten blown so far out of proportion.  
  
A few minutes later . . .  
  
Hermione came back downstairs covered with her dressing robe and holding a small duffel bag. She walked to where Ron and Ginny were now sitting and held out a hand to Ron. He took it and they set off toward the Hospital Wing. Before they even got out of Gryffindor Tower, however, a slightly bedraggled looking Harry stumbled over to them. "Ron, mate, I'm sorry. O God. I don't know why I did that. Really I don't. Can you forgive me?" Ron nodded sourly to acknowledge his forgiveness of Harry. Then Harry turned to Hermione and muttered under his breath so that Ron wouldn't hear, "Meet me at the entrance to the Hospital Wing at midnight if you think you could ever want to be friends with me again. Please." Hermione nodded curtly and grabbed Ron's arm so he would get a move on. Ron, who couldn't really talk, squeaked in surprise. The two of them left silently and said, nor tried to say, anything. When they got to the Hospital Wing, Hermione set her stuff down by the soundly sleeping Draco's bed and walked with Ron to the nurse's office. As Ron still could not speak, Hermione called out to the nurse and everything for him. "Madame Pomfrey? I, uh, I brought you a patient." Madame Pomfrey came to her door and yawned widely. "O? What's this now? O my, Mr. Weasley! What on earth have you been doing? Your jaw is most definitely broken. I only saw you moments ago!" Ron hung his head as Hermione continued. "He and *another* student got in a fight. Ron said something to provoke the other boy and the other one attacked." The nurse calmly sighed. "Follow me Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger, I'll come over in a moment to find you a bed. Do not, I repeat *do not* wake Mr. Malfoy. Understood? Good." As Ron walked into the office, Hermione walked over to Draco's bed. She sat down on the edge of it and gently placed a kiss on the sleeping boy's forehead. He stirred slightly as she pulled away from him and for a second Hermione thought she had woken him up. But he simply fell back asleep again. Hermione got up and waited for the matron to release Ron and find her a bed when she heard a panicked whisper behind her. Draco was mumbling something under his breath, something about his mother and father. Hermione rushed back to his side when he jolted awake, breathing heavily. "Shhh . . . Draco, I'm here now. It's OK. Everything will be OK now. I promise you." Draco looked at her with tears in his eyes. He reached out for her, pulling her close. She knew he had obviously been upset at what he had seen in his dream. The two teens simply held each other like that for a few minutes when Hermione realized Draco was again asleep. A good thing too, as Madame Pomfrey could be heard sending Ron off. Then the 'tap tap' of her shoes came nearer. Hermione, remembering that she wasn't to wake Draco, quickly stood. The nurse eyed her suspiciously as she walked over. "Ahem. All right Miss Granger. You may sleep, ah! Here. And I don't want to be catching you out of bed after 11:30, is that clear? I'll go ahead and pull the curtains shut so you two can have a little bit of privacy. If he wakes up and is any pain, come get me *immediately*, understand?" Hermione nodded and walked over to the bed Madame Pomfrey had pointed out for her to use. She unmade the bed and used her wand to put a warming spell over the cool sheets. Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes at this action and muttered "Teenagers," as she walked back to her office. Hermione waited till she heard the door shut before she undid her dressing robe, revealing demure, yet sexy, pajamas The girl went back over to Draco's bed and again sat on the edge. She murmured softly "You promised we could continue. But, I guess you changed your mind. O well. Oo! I have a wonderful idea!" Hermione again pulled out her wand. She said a quick summoning spell and drew her bed closer to Draco's. "There, that's better. Now, if only you were awake." "Who's to say I'm not? Silly girl. I can pretend to sleep very well now, especially having to practice it for so many years. Love the pj's by the way; very nice." Hermione jolted as Draco spoke. "Yikes! I thought you were dead asleep!" Draco laughed evilly. "I told you earlier, I've never been known to deny a lady her share of Draco and I'm not about to start now." Hermione smiled widely as she leaned over to once again initiate their earlier 'activities'. After a few minutes of hot n' heavy snogging, Draco propped himself up on some pillows so that he could sit up better. He winced slightly throughout that whole process, making Hermione very worried indeed. However, as soon as he patted the bed next to him, she completely forgot about that. She laid her head on the pillow next to his and wrapped her arms gently around him. They stayed like that till she looked at her watch and realized it was 11:59. "Draco, as much as I hate to leave, I promised Harry I'd meet him out in the hallway at midnight. I promise I'll be right back though and if he tries anything, I'll kick him where the sun doesn't shine and run back in here." Draco smirked slightly and mumbled, "Remind me not to make you mad ever again. K?" She nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips before jumping up, grabbing her dressing robe and heading to the door.  
  
Gryffindor 6th year Boy's Dormitory five minutes earlier . . .  
  
"Harry, just leave her alone! Please? If she's happy, then why can't you just be happy for her?" Ron shot at the dark-haired boy. "Ron, I can't let her just choose him without knowing how I feel too. My heart won't let me." Ron looked at Harry with a dumbfounded expression before saying sarcastically, "All right dude, lemme know how this whole thing goes for you. Just don't come running to me when she slaps you stupid." With that, Ron yanked the hangings on his four-poster shut. Harry sighed at the reaction of his best friend. His watch beeped to let him know he had four minutes to get down to the Hospital Wing. He dug through his trunk, looking for the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak. Once he found them, he headed out of Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Back to the Present . . .  
  
Hermione opened the door as quietly as she could. She looked around for any signs of Harry and, finding none, sat down to wait. Soon she heard muffled footsteps coming her direction. She stood up so she could look Harry in the face when he took off the cloak. Once he did, he launched into a hurried explanation of that night's events. "Mione? I, I just wanted to tell you how God-awful I feel about earlier. You do have the right to like whoever you like and if Draco is the one you like so be it. But, I just had to let you know that I'm, well, to be blunt, I'm over the moon about you. I have been for years. And I need you to know that before you sign Draco off as your boyfriend." Hermione looked at him sadly. "Harry, but he already asked me out. And I said yes. I'm sorry. And as to why *you* never asked me out I'm baffled. I've liked you for a while, but my feelings for Draco are bigger, more prominent. But I most likely would've said yes if you had simply asked me." Harry hung his head in shame. "I didn't want us to end up like you and Ron had been for so long after you guys broke up. You're just now starting to be close again. I didn't want to damage our friendship. Please, please tell me you'll reconsider going out with Draco. Please." Hermione turned her head away so that Harry wouldn't see her tears. "I can't. I love him Harry. I love him. If it was a silly crush, I would. But, I'm in love, and that's not something you take for granted. Besides, like you said, I wouldn't want to damage our closeness. Which would happen if I said I'd rethink Draco and then decide not to. And, his mother committed suicide Harry. He needs me." Harry sighed sadly, then realizing the mistake in Hermione's reason, stated "She didn't commit suicide, Lucius killed her. She was trying to get a hold of Malfoy for some reason and Lucius didn't want her to. So he 'silenced' her." Hermione gasped. "Are you sure? And, and we *cannot* tell Draco; he's already about to kill his father as it is. And Azkaban is not the best place for a depressed teen. O, one more thing, no more complaining about me and Draco, please?" Harry sighed again before answering, "Alright. We won't talk of either topic anymore. But, just once, can I have a kiss? Please? One kiss from a girl who is now as unobtainable as Cho was for me back in 4th year." Hermione gasped. Her thoughts ran wild as she thought of kissing the boy-who-lived. In her head she thought 'Well, one quick kiss can't hurt. Unless Draco comes out to see what's taking me so long. But he can't walk right now. What about Pomfrey though? She might walk out. But he's cute! Not as cute as Draco of course, but cute. Aw, what the heck. One kiss won't change my life or his.' Hermione bit her lip and sighed softly before nodding. "Alright. One kiss. And no tongue. Promise? If we go beyond a regular just lips kiss, *I* lead." Harry nodded eagerly. Hermione placed her arms around Harry's neck and his snaked around her waist. She hesitated for a moment before gently pressing her lips against his. Her heart still with Draco, her mind went ahead and told her a little further might be OK as long as she remembered that this was simply a favor to Harry and nothing more. Using her tongue, Hermione parted Harry's lips to gain entrance. He responded quickly to her actions and decided to take matters into his own hands. One of his arms left Hermione's waist and went up to her long, wavy hair and started twirling it. Hermione knew she should pull apart before it got too out of hand, so she slowly pulled back. Harry opened his gorgeous emerald green eyes and smirked. "OK, still so sure you want Draco." Hermione, who was feeling extremely guilty had had it. She drew her hand back then slapped him, hard, across the cheek. Harry staggered from the sheer power and anger driving it. "You know how you said you didn't want to damage our friendship? Our closeness? Well guess what? You did." And with that she left a heart-broken Harry to stand alone in the hallway as she went back to Draco. It was then she realized that the door had been open the whole time and that, if it weren't for the curtains, Draco would've seen the whole thing. She sighed and closed the door behind her, refusing to look back at Harry. She walked back to Draco who said "How'd it go?" and she simply answered "You don't wanna know. Goodnight my love." Draco pouted for a second before replying "Goodnight. I love you." But by this time, Hermione had already fallen asleep, dreaming of Harry and Draco fighting over her. 


	5. The One I'll Always Love Chapter Five Su...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and my own twisted ideas.  
  
A/N: Since it's been so long since I last wrote, here's a long chapter for your (re)viewing pleasure! O, and yes, chapter 4 was very un-Draco. Sorry, but I had to get a lil sympathy now b/c of something he does later that everyone will want to hate him for. Cept mione will remember how vulnerable he seemed and stuff and will sorta forgive him. Don't worry, neither of them dies...at least not anytime soon...Muwahahahaha! And since everyone also makes Hermione the good girl, I decided she should get a lil chance to be not-so-good every once in a while...so yea. That explains my reasoning for last chapter's weird character moods. OK, back to story...  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Five: Summer Dreams  
  
A few days later, Draco was released from the hospital with only a slight limp and sore ribs. Hermione had felt extremely guilty after what had happened between her and Harry and was not about to let Draco find out. She was constantly worried about him these days: she had worried he would hurt himself if he went to get Harry and Ron, but now she worried he would find out that his mother hadn't killed herself and that he would find out about that horrible kiss. It wasn't horrible as in a bad kiss, simply a forbidden one. But she knew that when she got over worried she acted weird, so she tried as hard as she could to just brush it off. If her friends had noticed anything wrong with her, they hadn't said a word. Harry had come up to Hermione earlier that week and apologized profusely, but they were still on uneasy terms. Ever since Hermione confessed to liking Draco to her best friends, Ron and Ginny had been especially nice to him; not friendly really, just nice. Harry on the other hand avoided Draco at all costs, worried that his hate for Draco (added to the fact that Draco had Mione and he didn't) would make him send the Slytherin back to the Hospital Wing with even more severe injuries than before. Hermione noticed that no one else in the school seemed to know about the relationship between the Gryffindor and Slytherin prefects, and she couldn't say that made her upset. She and Draco had decided to unveil their feelings for each other at the beginning of next school year. So Hermione had to deal with Pansy-the-cow hanging all over Draco and Draco had to deal with Terry Boot attempting to flirt with Hermione (attempting a key word here, the poor boy had no idea what the hell he was doing). So they met under the cover of night in the library or out by the lake. Hermione was getting anxious though. The end of the school year was quickly approaching, but Draco had no where to stay. She kept hoping Dumbledore would ask to speak to her in private so that he could tell her it was OK for her to bring him home, but as the last few days came and went, Dumbledore would pass her and give her only a smile or a wave. Soon the last day of her 6th year arrived. All of Hogwarts had gathered in the Great Hall for the points ceremony (Gryffindor won for the 6th year in a row) and acknowledged the Gryffindor Quidditch team for their outstanding performance and sportsmanship at every game that past year. Harry beamed proudly as Dumbledore praised Harry's team (A/N: Yea, he's captain. Nothing could keep him from returning to Quidditch after toad lady left, so he rejoined and was made captain). Hermione smiled at Draco's look of pure boredom as Dumbledore rattled on about things for next year. Then, the unexpected happened. The feast was well underway when the beloved headmaster again took to his feet. "Students, faculty, I beg your forgiveness for again talking in the middle of this wonderful feast. However, I would like to say congratulations to a member of Gryffindor House and to a member of Slytherin House. Would Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger please come forward? Not only did these two outstanding students get the highest grades on this years exams that I've ever seen in all my long years here, they have bridged the competitiveness that so brutally separates their houses. Ladies and gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to the first Heads couple we've had since James and Lily Potter: next year's Head Boy Draco Malfoy, and next year's Head Girl Hermione Granger." The entire crowd gasped. Scattered whispers could be heard throughout the great hall. "Did he just say they were a couple?" "So, what's this Gryffindor got that's got Malfoy interested? She's pretty sure, but she ain't drop-dead gorgeous like his usual girlfriends." "Don't you mean whores?" Hermione could feel her face burn as she stood there in front of the crowd next to Draco. She could hear him muttering next to her. "They want something to talk about huh? Well, we can give them something to talk about." He turned to Hermione and drew her close. The whispers died almost instantly. Hermione looked at Draco questioningly. He smirked and said "Just follow my lead. Don't worry, at worst we'll get a detention." Hermione's eyes widened as he leaned ever closer. So instead of worrying what the crowd would think if she made out with Malfoy in front of everyone and worried instead about what Draco would say if she didn't. So she leaned closer to him too. And then the crowd gasped as the couple kissed obscenely right in front of everyone. Snape snarled at the teachers' table and when he had had enough, walked over and pulled the two apart, muttering, "O, get a room!" Hermione blushed as she walked back to her seat. Harry and Ron both looked furious; though at Malfoy, not her. Ginny, as well as most of the other girls in the room looked a cross between jealous and amused. Pansy and the rest of the Slytherins were, however, disgusted beyond everything that Malfoy would even go that near to the know-it-all 'Mudblood'. Hermione giggled nervously as she sat down and looked across the table at Harry. The boy who lived had a look of pure agony written across his face. Hermione gazed intently on his features and asked worriedly, "Harry? What, what's wrong? You saw what happened. He initiated it, not me. You know I wouldn't do something like that in front of you on purpose, right? You trust me, right?" Harry sighed deeply and sadly. "Of course I trust you. I'd trust you with my goddamn life. It's him I don't trust. Mione, what if he, what if he hurts you? Or cheats on you? Or, something worse? I could never live with myself if he made you cry. That's why I refuse to like him, or even be friendly. I know you were never mine, nor most likely will you ever be mine, but it still feels as though he's taken something from me. So there." Hermione gasped. Harry's words had both aggravated her and touched her. 'He really cares about me. I had no idea his feelings ran so deep.' Harry sighed sadly before returning to his half eaten dinner. Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table to see how Draco was faring. He was surrounded by almost all of the Slytherin boys and shunned by the Slytherin girls. Draco looked at Hermione and winked mischievously at her. She blushed profusely and quickly returned to her own meal. Draco laughed softly and said to himself "O Mione, why are you so perfect?" Goyle looked at Draco with his usual dumbfounded expression and said "I'm not Mione, Draco. I'm Goyle." Draco looked confused for a moment until what his blundering crony had said settled in. He then threw his head back and laughed a genuine, hearty laugh.  
  
After the Feast...  
  
As she was leaving the great hall, Hermione heard Dumbledore yell out her name. She walked back to him after telling her friends that she would catch up. As it turned out, Professor Dumbledore had also called Draco over as well. "Hermione, I know you wanted permission to let Draco stay with you over the summer because of Lucius' recent actions towards the boy. So I wrote your parents and they said it would be alright as long as you two had separate bedrooms. So, do you still want Mr. Malfoy to come home with you?" Hermione grinned widely at Dumbledore's answer. "I'd love to have him stay over! That is, if he wants to." Draco looked at Hermione intently before speaking. "Why not? It'll give us a chance to know each other better and this way I know I'll finish my homework in time." Draco winked at the blushing girl and wrapped his arm around her waist. Dumbledore smiled and sent them on their way. "Ahh, young love. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it Severus?" The Potions master, who had walked over to try and convince Dumbledore to give him the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position as he did every year. "Albus, we agreed to never bring up that topic. And may I-" "Severus, don't ask me again. Besides, I've already found the perfect person for the job. Perhaps you remember Lyra Malfoy?" Snape blushed and nodded. Then he raised his head as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "But I thought she was dead. At least, that's what Lucius wrote." "Cassie is no more dead than you or I. Lucius hates his sister because of something that happened 18 years ago. So he told everyone she had died after she disappeared to do her work. It's very tough to be an Unspeakable you know. But she's coming here next year. She's been living with her sister Cassiopeia I believe." Snape sighed and opened his mouth to ask one last question. "No Severus, she's not married." Snape smiled and walked towards the door to watch the students leave for Hogsmeade Station.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Draco and Hermione were busy getting their things packed up. Hermione hadn't told anyone but Ginny, who she trusted with all of her secrets, that Draco was going to be at her house for the summer. Ginny had squealed happily for her friend and promised to keep Ron from finding out. But now Hermione was worried about Harry. He had been unusually silent since the feast and it was scaring Hermione. She put the last of her books in her heavy trunk and tried to close it. Alarmed that the lid wasn't shutting, she called to Harry to help her. He came to the foot of the stairs then stopped. "What's wrong? Why aren't you coming up?" Harry looked at her with a 'what do you mean' look on his face. "I can't. Remember the anti-boys spell?" Hermione gasped as she remembered what had happened to Ron the previous year. She pulled out her wand and said a spell to make her trunk feather light and threw it down to Harry yelling "Catch" as she did so. Harry (amazingly...) caught it. Hermione ran down the steps and walked to Harry who was still holding her trunk. "I can't get it to close. Will you sit on it while I lock it? Please?" Harry laughed. "Ah-ha! So that's the reason you keep me around! Just in case you need me to sit on your trunk when you can't get it to close. I knew you didn't appreciate me." Hermione shook her head. "You're right Harry. I hate you but you're just heavy enough to weigh down the lid of my trunk so that I can close it. Never mind that you're my best friend and I thought you'd like to help me." Harry pretended to pout as he set the trunk down. He crossed his arms and hunched over like a little kid who didn't get their way. Hermione laughed and pushed him down on the trunk. He rolled his eyes as he heard her laughing. "Fine. I hate you too Mione." Hermione looked up at him before saying seriously "And that's why you're so worked up over me and Draco, huh? Well then, I guess I don't have to worry about your feelings if I tell you that you're the worst kisser I've ever kissed." Seeing his slightly hurt expression, Hermione kissed his cheek softly and whispered "Just kidding. You're one of the best." Harry felt his cheeks flush as Hermione kissed his cheek again. "OK, its closed. Thank you Mr. Potter for your services. Now, we really should get going. We're the only two left in here." Harry stood and nodded numbly as though what she had just said hadn't really settled in. He followed her slowly out of the common room. He was still silent when they got downstairs. Hermione looked at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had a hand placed on his cheek where she kissed him earlier; a faint pinkish tone still lingered on his cheeks. Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him out side to the carriages. She called to Ron, who had been talking to his current crush, Mandy Brocklehurst, and then looked around for Draco. Harry and Ron climbed into the carriage and each held a hand out for the girl. She, however, had barely even noticed her best friends. Then she saw him. He was looking for her too. He smiled when he saw her and walked over to her carriage. The smile on Harry's face left the second he saw Draco and Ron's wavered. "O come on. He's OK, really. And we'll behave. Even keep our hands to ourselves if you want." At the last statement, she heard a noise of protest form Draco. She swatted him playfully then climbed into th carriage. Draco followed tentatively and was about to sit next to Hermione when Harry protectively sat down on the seat. He shot daggers at the pale boy with his eyes and, taking the hint, Draco sat down next to Ron. When they got to the train, Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and glared at Harry. Although she said nothing, her 'Why are you doing this to me?' look said volumes to Harry. He sighed sadly and followed the couple and Ron onto the train to find an empty compartment. Hermione found ne first and dragged Draco in behind her. They sat next to each other and Draco snaked his arm around Hermione's waist. Harry walked in and his eyes immediately found Draco's arm around the thin waist of his best friend. Hermione looked at pleadingly to behave and so he sat down without a word. "Now, tell, me Malfoy. Where will you be staying this summer? I am guessing you will not be able to go back to your house after what happened with your father?" Draco tightened his arm around his girlfriend before answering "I will be spending the summer with a close friend of mine. Dumbledore is arranging my clothes and everything to be brought over. And I will be attending my mother's funeral service tomorrow with that close friend." Harry, not receiving the answer he thought he would hear, looked taken aback. He decided to press the matter anyway and asked "So, who is this 'friend' of yours? Do they go to Hogwarts?" Hermione gasped; she hadn't planned on telling Harry or Ron where Draco was really staying and she knew Draco would have a hard time convincing Harry for too long. So she did something she hated have done to her. She interrupted. "Say, Harry, where's Ron? I haven't seen him since we got on the train. Perhaps you should go look for him?" Harry looked at her in surprize as it dawned on him that Ron had seemed to disappear. "Alright. I'll go look. But you two behave yourselves. I do not want to come back to a rendition of what happened at the feast." Draco pouted when he saw Hermione nod slowly. Then his smiled returned as she winked at him. As soon as Harry left, she turned to him and said coyly "Now Mr. Malfoy. I believe there was something we started earlier? I would so like to finish it before my dad gets here. Or Harry. Or Ron. But, I understand if you think we should follow wh-" She got to say no more as Draco's lips suddenly silenced her. Soon they were finishing what they had started in the Great Hall earlier that day. It wasn't until Harry interrupted them that they broke apart (A/N: harry was gone for about 10 minutes...lol...so that means our fav almost head boy and girl were rather busy .). Ron walked in behind Harry, totally oblivious (as usual) to what Harry had walked in on. For the rest of the trip, Hermione and Draco 'behaved' themselves (A/N: ha, draco? Behave himself? Never...), Ron cracked jokes about different things that had happened all year and Harry looked out the window with a look of deep hurt plastered across his face. When the train pulled into the station, Harry was the first out of the compartment. Ron followed right after, leaving Hermione and Draco by themselves. Draco's lips went straight to Hermione's neck as she proceeded to tell him something about how they should leave at separate times so that no one would figure out that they were leaving together (A/N: Draco wasn't really listening...and yea, I know I've done about 3 of these just in this section, but it needs to be done.) Hermione pushed Draco off of her and got up, laughing at his fake look of hurt. Rolling his eyes, he stood up and got his things as well (A/N: ok, I know they didn't carry them out to the train, but they're there...ok? It's never explained in the book how the trunks are taken to the train either, so there). Hermione walked out to the rest of the world first and ran over to Harry and Ron, giving both a huge hug a quick kiss on the cheek. She then waled over to her awaiting parents who were looking slightly put out that a boy who they didn't know would be staying at their house all summer. Mr. Granger took his daughter's trunk out to the car while Hermione and her mother waited for Draco. When she finally saw him, Hermione pointed him out to her mother excitedly. Mrs. Granger sighed as the tall pale boy walked over to them. Mr. Granger returned right then and looked Draco up and down. Draco attempted a warm smile as he stuck out his hand. Mr. Granger took it slowly and dropped it quickly. Hermione looked imploringly at her father, begging for his acceptance of Draco. The irrate Muggle sighed and then picked up Draco's trunk. Hermione's mother followed him closely. Hermione took Draco's hand and led him out to the car. Little did she know that Harry had been watching closely to see if his suspicions about where Draco were true. And when they were, he muttered under his breath "Have a good summer Malfoy. That's one heck of a friend." and then he wiped away the single glistening tear that had slid down his cheek. 


	6. Vacation Romance

A/N: sorry its been awhile since I last posted anything...been busy w/stuff. And getting slightly discouraged by the lack of reviews, so if u read this, review, please!! I'll take good, bad - WHATEVER! So feel free to criticize me, but be nice. Okies...in the last chapter, I wrote "Cassie is no more dead than you or I..." and it's supposed to be "Lyra is no more dead than you or I..." thx to whoever it was who pointed that out...I cant remember. But thx. And here's chapter 6!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, any characters I make up and my own twisted ideas. But I wouldn't mind too much if Draco belonged to me. Ah well, I'd have to buy out a lot of franchises before that would happen and I'm broke. So yea...no Draco. :[  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Six - Vacation Romance  
  
The Grangers plus one Malfoy reached the Granger household soon after departing from Kings Cross. Hermione, who usually wished the ride back and forth from the train station was a little longer, was glad that it went quick. She needed to talk to Draco. He had so much to learn about life as a muggle. And then there were her friends. While a few of the wizard or witch friends she made in her neighborhood would probably not recognize the younger Malfoy, most would have heard of his father. They needed to see Draco the way she did now, not the way her friends at school so often did. Then, Hermione had a brilliant idea. Tomorrow, after the funeral for Draco's mother, she would call everyone up and have them all meet the pale boy she had become so infatuated with. Draco saw the smirk across her face and learned over to whisper, "What, may I ask is so funny?" Hermione just shook her head and tried to suppress her widening smile. She couldn't wait till tomorrow.  
  
The next morning...  
  
Hermione, dressed in a short yet fairly modest black dress, held onto Draco's hand as the walked into the tiny chapel near Malfoy Manor where the funeral service for Narcissa Black Malfoy would be held. Draco bit his lip and hoped that the tears threatening to fall would wait until no one, or at the most just Hermione, was around. A single tear ran down his pale cheek. Hoping no one had noticed the tiny water droplet, he raised a gloved hand to wipe away the offending teardrop, but was stopped by a small hand. Startled, he looked at Hermione's own teary eyes and dropped his hand to his side. Hermione beckoned for him to lean over so she could whisper something in his ear. "It's ok to cry. She was your mother. No one will ever be able to replace her. Trust me. No one will think any less of you for shedding a few tears at your mother's funeral." Draco nodded solemnly. Then without warning, he placed his head on his girlfriend's shoulder and started to quietly weep. Hermione awkwardly patted his back. 'Poor Draco. How can I console him and really put any true compassion into my words? My own mother is waiting for us in the car outside of town with my father. I've never lost anyone as close to me as his mom obviously was to him.' Hermione wrapped her arms around her sobbing boyfriend's shoulders and just held him. The actual service was short, sweet and to the point. Lucius hadn't even shown up. After the service, Professor Dumbledore walked up to her and the grieving boy. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. I came over to, firstly, extend my deepest sympathies to young Mr. Malfoy. I too lost my mother at a young age. And secondly, Ms. Granger, Draco's belongings are at your house. I admit I had to put an enlargement charm on the guest bedroom. Draco here plays more than one large instrument that simply would not fit anywhere else. The outside will look the same, but the inside has roughly tripled in size. Again, my deepest sympathies Draco. Good day to you both." Then, with a 'pop!' the headmaster was gone. Hermione and Draco walked slowly out to the Grangers' car, neither saying a word to each other or anyone else.  
  
15 minutes later...  
  
Hermione and Draco got out of the car and went up to see the newly improved guest room. "My god! This must be as big as your room at home!" Hermione gasped when the walked into the huge room. "To be honest, this is bigger. Usually the piano is in the front hall. But as Mother and I were the only ones in the house who ever played it, Father must have simply decided its mine." Hermione looked around the room to see what else she could learn about Draco through its contents. "A violin, a guitar, a piano, what other instruments do you play?" "Actually, just those three. However, I also have a unused drum set and a double bass that used to belong to my grandfather. But, as I said, I only play the piano, violin and guitar." Hermione whistled in appreciation. She took a tentative step inside the large room. She walked over to where Draco stood gazing out the window. "Draco?" "Mm? O, sorry. Zoned out there. What's up?" Draco put on a big smile the didn't reach to his eyes. Hermione reached up and placed her hand on her boyfriend's pale cheek. "I know what will cheer you up." She started. "I'm gonna call my friends right now. We'll all get together and throw a big party. They'll love you. Well, not the guys, but the girls." Draco raised one blonde eyebrow in Hermione's direction. "How is hanging out with a bunch of muggles I have never met in my life going to make me feel better?" "Draco, you silly, they're witches and wizards. I've met them over different summers and stuff. Turns out most of them live within minutes of here. And Jena actually has access to this awesome summer house. So we usually go there and stuff. I'll go call her now." Hermione raced out of the room, more excited about talking to Jena and the rest as each second passed. Draco shook his head as a small half grin spread out on his face as his girlfriend ran out of the room excitedly. Then he turned back towards the window as a single silvery tear ran down his pale cheek.  
  
15 minutes later...  
  
"Yes Jena, he's hott as hell. No, you can't have him. He's mine. You have Logan you silly thing. So, can we have a party at your place?" Hermione had been talking to Jennifer Chapman for the past 15 minutes about Draco. All she could get from Jena were questions about her new boyfriend. Hermione paused as Jena babbled about something else that had happened to her over the past year. "Jena, you know as well as I do that we'll talk about all of this again in the near future. So can we please talk about having a party at your parents' summer home? It's just the Draco has been having the worst of luck lately and I want to cheer him up and see you guys at the same time. Please?" Jena ranted for a minute longer about how rude interrupting was before she agreed to ask her parents about using the summer home. Hermione hung up the phone and sighed happily as she turned her thoughts back towards Draco. He was amazing. She had no idea how she ever could have thought her life as 'good' before he showed up. "_Rrrrrriinnnggggg! Rrrrrriinnnggggg!_" Hermione jumped as her phone rang loudly. She picked up the receiver. "Hello? O! Jena! Well, what did your parents say?" Hermione waited rather impatiently as her friend talked about how she had asked her mom and everything before- "Jena, was it a yes or a no? Yea, I know I'm a rude, selfish bitch. Just answer." Hermione laughed as Jena confirmed Hermione's self proclaimed bitch title. Then- "You're serious? Your parents said yes? Ohmigod! That is AWESOME! Lemme go tell Draco. Talk to ya later Jen. Love yas!" Hermione raced back to Draco's room. She saw her boyfriend stretched out on his king size bed. She grinned mischievously before pouncing. "Gah! Hermione! I was almost asleep!" Draco glared half-heartedly as Hermione grinned. "They said yes! We can have a party at Jena's parents' summer home! She's calling the rest of the girls and telling them to call their boyfriends. It's gonna be a costume party and the girls are shopping together and the boys are. Logan, Tony, John, and Derek will be here tomorrow to meet you and take you out to get a costume!" Draco stared at her open-mouthed. "Whoa, slow down. OK, we get to have a party at Julie's cousin's summer house?" "Julie? Who the hell is Julie? I said Jena's parents', not Julie's cousin's. Silly. And it will be a costume party." "OK, got that. Jena's parents, costume party. And what's this about me having to go shopping? And who on earth are Luke, Tommy, Joe and Darren?" Hermione burst out laughing when Draco finished. As soon as her giggles had subsided, she corrected Draco. "Logan, not Luke. Tony, not Tommy. John, not Joe. And Derek, not Darren. And they are really close friends of mine and boyfriends of my best friends outside of school. And they're really protective of me. So if you can't get past them, you aren't right for me." Draco shook his head. "Herm, why'd ya go and do this to me? I love and all, but seriously. Don't forget, your happiness is not equaled in me right now. My mother just died, remember? We just went to the funeral earlier today? Ring any bells?" Hermione gasped. Draco was right. "Ohmigod. I'm so sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better. And I swear, the gang will LOVE you." Draco smiled sadly before grabbing Hermione around the waist and dragging her down onto the bed next to him. She squealed in delight as he commenced to tickling her mercilessly. She reached out and grabbed his ears and drew his face closer to hers. Draco, understanding her 100%, leaned closer. Their lips hit with such passion it was like they thought it would be their last kiss.  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
Hermione stumbled out of Draco's dark room with her hair tangled and her clothes disheveled. She walked into her room to get her pajamas and head to the bathroom for her shower. Then she heard a slight taping on her window. She whirled around to face her large window overlooking the street below and saw none other than Pigwidgeon, Ron's teensy little owl. Hermione dropped her stuff and ran to the window. "Pigwidgeon? What are you doing here?" The little owl hooted in delight and pride that it had delivered its letter. Hermione untied the letter from Pig's leg and sent Pig back out the window to Ron and the Burrow. She opened the letter with shaking hands. 'What could Ron be writing to me about? We've only been on vacation for a day now.' Hermione gasped as she read the letter. It read-  
  
_'Dear Hermione, Harry is on a warpath. He saw Malfoy leave with you yesterday. He's gonna do something to Draco, I just know it. Watch your back and watch out for Malfoy. I don't think he'll really hurt anyone, but I've never seen him this angry. I can't say I'm happy with your current choice of boyfriend, but it's just that, your choice. If I can, I'll try and stop him or at least warn you if he plans to actually do anything. Be careful. -Ron'_  
  
Hermione just stood there holding the letter in her hands. So much for a peaceful summer romance. 


	7. Green With Jealousy

A/N: Thank you so much to:

CrazyCruzet212: I'll work on it thanks

thea: wow...thank you so much. I'm really glad you enjoy it. And harry won't be the only one getting jealous... evil grin

dixiechic581: thanks for the advice.

portmanroxsmysoxs: thanks. Like I said to thea, I'm glad you like it. Hopefully you'll like this chapter too...

priah: it gets explained...I promise and thanks again for your advice earlier

TheDreamLady: thank you for your advice  
  
to everyone who reviewed it is MUCH appreciated. Criticism of all kinds is welcomed. Please keep reviewing!! Anyways, back to Draco and Hermione...  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, any original characters I create and my own twisted ideas.  
  
The One I'll Always Love Chapter Seven: Green with Jealousy

After she finished rereading the letter for the umpteenth time, Hermione sat at the edge of her bed holding the letter clenched in her shaking fist. She could hardly begin to comprehend what Harry might be planning that Ron thought dangerous enough that it would need a warning. Draco walked up to her doorway and lightly tapped of the doorframe. Hermione jumped as Draco walked in her room. Draco, seeing Hermione dead white with a letter in her hand, was instantly worried. 

"Mione? What's happened? You look as though you've seen a ghost."  
Hermione looked up at him, fear in her eyes.

"D-draco. It...I mean...it's Harry. He's, he'll. I don't know."  
Draco raised an eyebrow at his girlfriends babbling.

"Here, why don't you let me see the letter and then we'll talk it out, OK?"  
Hermione nodded dully and handed the crunched-up letter to Draco's awaiting hands. Draco quickly scanned the piece of parchment and then handed it back to Hermione.

"Sounds like Potter's jealous. Did you know about his jealousy before now?"

Hermione raised her eyes to meet his.

"Y-yes. Ron told me. Ginny told me. Hell, even Harry told me. Harry actually asked me out too...but after you had. So I of course turned him down. But, now that I think about it, I did know before they had all told me, I just convinced myself that it was nothing."  
Draco let out a long whistle.

"Wow. You really shouldn't keep all that inside you. It'll mess ya up. And that's never a good thing. Anyways, I'd like to see Potter try anything to hurt either of us. Physically, mentally or emotionally. Now, since you're not in there, I'm gonna go take a shower."  
Hermione groaned. 'O, right. My shower. I completely forgot all about that when I saw that damn letter. O well.' Hermione picked up her dropped clothes and placed them on the bed next to her. She soon heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom. 'He better not use up all of my hot water.' she thought to herself.  
  
10 minutes later...  
  
Draco walked out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. He walked back over to Hermione's room where he found the brown-haired beauty sitting on the floor rereading Hogwarts, A History for the zillionth time.

"Boo!"  
Hermione whipped her head around and, seeing her boyfriend in nothing more than the towel still wrapped tightly around his waist, blushed scarlet. "Draco!" she hissed, "What on earth made you decide to do that?"  
Draco smirked.

"I wanted to see the look on your face. You're awfully cute when you're flustered."  
Hermione blushed again.

"Thanks. I'll remember that," she remarked sarcastically.  
Draco nodded sagely and said

"Good. See that you do."  
Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed. Draco turned and left her room with out so much as a backward glance. He walked right back to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Hermione rolled her eyes again and returned to her reading.  
  
The next morning...  
  
Draco, Hermione and Hermione's parents were just sitting down to a breakfast of pancakes and bacon when they were interrupted by a sharp tap on their front door. Hermione jumped up to get it. As she opened the door, she was greeted by four tall, good looking guys. First there was Logan, a tall brunette with bright blue eyes. Then there was Logan's older brother Tony, also a tall brunette. There was John, the tallest of the lot and finally Derek, the bad-boy of the group and Hermione's ex-boyfriend.

"Wow! I didn't expect you all to be this early. Come on in. I swear John, you grew at least another foot taller. We've just now sat down to breakfast. Won't you join us? There's plenty for everyone."  
John and Derek nodded to show that they would like breakfast but Logan said that he and Tony had already eaten. John and Derek followed Hermione into the kitchen while Tony sat with his brother in the living room to wait for everyone else. As soon as he entered the kitchen, Derek looked straight at Draco.  
Draco looked up at the slightly scowling boy and attempted a confident smile. Derek's scowl only deepened. 'Who the hell is this little punk? O, right. Herm's new bf. Well, I'll just have to have a talk with him later and lay down the rules of dating Hermione.' Derek thought to himself. Draco's smile quickly disappeared. Hermione, who appeared oblivious to all of this walked around the kitchen chatting animatedly while she made up plates for John and Derek.  
Breakfast ended relatively quickly. Draco stood to help Hermione clear the dishes. Derek nudged John and whispered something in his ear, causing both boys to snicker loudly. Draco flushed as the snickering boys left the room to wait with Tony and Logan. Hermione turned to her boyfriend and twittered excitedly,

"See, I told you that wouldn't be so bad. Now, Derek is the one you'll have to watch out for. He's rather protective of me. And we did date for a little while. It's funny though because when I dumped him we had a rather nasty break-up, but he still comes to my rescue at the drop of a hat. John and Tony will do anything Derek says, but Logan does his own thing. And he's just as protective of me as Derek, but he's stronger physically. So if you're friends with Logan, no one will mess with you unless you hurt me. Then you're a dead man."  
Draco rolled his eyes.

"So that mean's I'm royally screwed. You saw how I was with Potter that first day we met. I'm not that good at making friends. Never have been. Can't you just tell them to like me? John and what's-his-name...Derek were hanging on your every word during breakfast."

"I could tell them not to kill you. But liking you? You'll have to do that on your own. Now, I'm going out with Jena, Breena, Marlie, and Mari later. So there's a chance you'll be by yourself when you get back. I know guys aren't known for their shopping skills. You remember how to use the TV and DVD player, right? Or do you want me to show you again real quick?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Have fun. I'll get along with these guys all right for a little while at least. See ya later."  
Draco kissed the tip of Hermione's nose and grabbed his wallet from the table. He walked to the living room and the five boys all filed out of the house.  
  
Later that afternoon...  
  
Draco unlocked the door to the silent house.

"Hello? Hermione? Mrs. Granger? Mr. Granger? Anyone?"  
Upon reaching the conclusion that no one else was there, Draco raced upstairs to the guest room to hide his costume for the upcoming party. He thought back to a conversation he had had with Derek earlier that day.  
  
FLASHBACK...  
  
"Yo, dude. C'mere. Let me just say one thing. If you can get this right, you and I'll be fine. You hurt Hermione in any way, and I'll kill you with my bare hands without mercy. That clear? Good. Now, the other boys, with the exception of Logan, will do whatever I say. So if I say kill the creep, they'll kill ya right along with me. So it would be best if you and I stay on healthy terms. Cause I'll do anything for Hermione. Even go to jail. My moral standards aren't as high as some peoples'. And just so you know, I am still in love with her. And I am jealous as hell that she got over me so quickly. So, it might be best that you stay outta my way for the time being until that passes. Well, it's been nice talking to ya, Draco."  
Draco shuddered at the hateful tone in the boys voice. 'This guy really wants me dead. Sheesh. Now I know how Potter feels.'  
  
END FLASHBACK...  
  
Draco walked back downstairs after he was satisfied with his costume's hiding place. He glanced at the clock sitting on the mantle in the living room. 3:00.

"When is Hermione going to get back?" he wondered out loud to himself.  
Before too long, he heard the key in the doorknob. Draco stood and walked towards the door. It was probably too early for Mr. and Mrs. Granger to be returning from work. Hermione walked in the door with a smile on her face and a large shopping bag in her hands.

"Draco! I didn't think you would be back so soon. Let me run this upstairs and then we van talk about your day."  
Hermione raced upstairs to her room to hide her costume. A few minutes later she had returned. Draco was waiting for her in the living room.

"So, tell me. How was shopping with the boys?" Draco shrugged. "It was shopping. We didn't talk much. I stayed away from Derek. It was fun, I guess."

Hermione stared into her boyfriend's icy blue eyes, as if searching them to see if he was telling the whole truth. Satisfied, she sidled over closer to him. She licked her lips seductively and whispered

"My parents aren't due back for another hour. Let's have some fun." Draco remembered Derek's warning about hurting Hermione.

"OK, but not too much fun, just in case your parents decide to come home early."

Draco said. 'Or Derek pops in for an unexpected visit.'  
Hermione pouted, but knew that Draco spoke the truth. So instead of complaining, she leaned in closer to Draco. He pulled her onto his lap as her lips met his own. His tongue snaked out and licked her bottom lip. Hermione parted her lips, giving Draco free reign to ravage her mouth with his own. With her hands, she pushed Draco down onto the couch, him on bottom, her on top. Draco's lips left Hermione's and trailed down to her slender neck. She moaned his name in pleasure as his lips worked magic on her smooth skin.

"Draco. Draco. Ohmigod. Draco."  
He mumbled a muffled "Mm?" and she whispered

"My parents, don't forget. We should probably stop before we get too carried away."  
Draco groaned in displeasure as he acknowledged Hermione's wise words. He pulled away from her neck and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. He sat up with her still in his arms. The two of them sat like that, simply enjoying the other's company until Hermione's parents walked in the door.  
  
Over to Number 4 Privet Drive...  
  
Harry looked at the note in his hand for the hundredth time that day.

_"Meet me at 8:30 in the Leaky Cauldron if you're as sick of the Hermione/Draco relationship as I am. I'll be waiting."_  
Harry sighed. He wanted Hermione to be happy, but he also wanted her in his arms instead of Draco's. He glanced at the clock hanging on his wall. 7:51. He should leave now.  
Harry walked down the steps to the front hallway. He called out to his still dining relatives "I'm going out."  
He then left before they could protest or try to stop him.  
Harry walked down number 4's driveway before hailing down the gigantic Knight Bus. He was greeted by Stan Shunpike, whose acne finally seemed to be getting better, and Ernie the old driver, whose driving hadn't gotten any better.

"The Leaky Cauldron. And step on it."  
Ernie geared up the huge purple bus and they were off.  
Thirty minutes later, the big bus pulled up in front of the tiny pub. Harry climbed up and waved halfheartedly before the bus shot off again. Tom, the old bartender, was walking towards the door when Harry opened it.

"Lo, Tom. Um, I'm meeting a...friend...here at 8:30. Can you tell me if she's here yet?"

"O, you mean that little hussy is here for you? Number 5 Mr. Potter. I always thought you liked that Granger chit. I never would have guessed you liked little whores."

"It's strictly a business meeting Tom, I promise."  
Tom shrugged.

"What's your business is your business and what's my business is my business. Here's the key. Holler if you need anything."  
Harry took the key from the old bartender's hands and walked up the stairs to room number 5. Harry walked in the door and was greeted by his 'business associate'.

"Harry, darling. I was worried you weren't going to come."  
Harry grimaced as the girl's simpering voice hit his ears.

"Well, I'm here now aren't I?" he snapped.

"Temper, temper. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."  
The girl had hit a raw nerve and she knew it.

"Well, now that you're here, we can talk business. I want Draco back in my arms by Halloween. And I suppose you want the same for your precious Hermione? I'm talking revenge. We make them jealous and we make them hate each other more than ever before. We must break them up if we want to be happy again."  
Harry paused before answering. 'Hermione, I am so sorry.'

"Alright, but no one gets hurt. Got that?"  
The girl nodded.

"OK, so we have a deal. What did you have in mind Pansy?"


	8. Fragments of Me

A/N: thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially Polaris and thea. Thanks. You guys rock! And to Kelsey...I know you didn't really review, but you've helped me so much between this chapter and the last one. Thanks girl.   
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, any characters I create and my own twisted ideas.  
  
The One I'll Always Love

Chapter Eight: Fragments of Me  
  
A week later, Draco was starting to get worried. The party was only two days away. Although he already had his costume, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Derek again. The other boys were fine, but Derek was a different story all together. Hermione had spent the past couple of days at Jena's house, helping to plan and decorate for the party. Draco walked around the empty house, wondering what would happen at the party.  
  
FLASHBACK...  
  
"Draco, I promise you'll have fun. We do this every year and we have fun every time. Every year, we go to Jena's house and we have a party. Me, Derek, Jena, Logan, Mari, Marlie, John, Tony and Breena. Our parents used to worry, because its always guys and girls, but since none of us has gotten knocked up yet, they stopped worrying too much." Draco looked at Hermione with his eyebrows raised. "So, your parents just let you guys stay at Jena's house all weekend?" "Her parents have the spare key, just in case." Draco sighed. Then looked at Hermione quizzically. "Wait a second. You told me earlier that it was always couples. But you only named four guys instead of five. What happened to the last dude?" Hermione turned her face from Draco's. She quietly muttered under her breath, "We don't talk about him. Not anymore. It's too painful." Hermione started to walk away so that Draco wouldn't see her tears, but Draco reached out and grabbed her arm. "Mione, o, Mione. I didn't mean to make you cry. Mione?" Hermione hid her face in Draco's chest. "You didn't. He did. And now he's gone. He left us forever. It was his own damn fault. He shouldn't have. But, he did. Why?" Hermione's words dissolved into a fresh wave of tears. She gripped Draco's shirt and buried her face deeper in it. Draco wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. 'What the hell did this guy do? And what the hell happened to him?'  
  
End of FLASHBACK...  
  
Draco walked into the living room. He turned on the television, but, finding nothing he wanted to watch, turned it off in disgust. He walked up to his room and picked up his guitar. 'Hermione said there would be singing at the party. But I don't sing anything unless I write it. So I'll write my own song and sing it then. But, I only have two days. Guess that means I need to start right now.' Draco strummed a few chords on his guitar before an actual idea hit him.  
  
A few hours later...  
  
Hermione unlocked the front door, calling goodbye to Jena. "Hello? Draco? Where are you?" Hermione heard a faint sound coming from upstairs. "Singing? But, who?" Hermione crept up the stairs, careful to make very little noise. When she got to the top of the stairway, she listened again. It was coming from Draco's room whatever it was. Hermione walked towards her boyfriend's bedroom door. She pushed the door open, careful not to make it squeak on its hinges. There, a site greeted her eyes she had not expected to see. Draco was facing the window, playing his guitar and singing. Hermione stood there, mesmerized by the voice coming from her boyfriend. Knowing that he wouldn't want to be disturbed, Hermione turned around to leave. "You don't have to leave you know. You can listen, if you want." Hermione jumped. She hadn't realized Draco knew she was there. "Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I, heard singing. I didn't recognize it, so I came up to find out who it was. You've really got some voice." Draco blushed as Hermione complimented his singing voice. "It's nothing to brag about. I was, erm, writing a song to sing at the party." Hermione smiled widely. "Then I'll leave you to that. You can sing it for me when you're finished." Draco nodded and went back to his soft singing as Hermione left the room.  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
Draco came down to the main floor and found Hermione watching a muggle movie. He sat down on the couch next to her and whispered, "What's this?" Hermione turned to him in surprise; she hadn't heard him come downstairs. "O, this? Beauty and the Beast. It's my favorite movie. Well, Disney movie anyways." Draco looked at her quizzically. "Beauty and the Beast like the book? And what's this Disney thing?" Hermione laughed. She had forgotten how unused to muggle things Draco would be. "Yes, like the book. And Disney was the cartoon artist who lived in the States. They have a whole franchise named after him. And theme parks. Lots of them." Draco nodded but still had a bemused expression on his face. Then Hermione remembered Draco's earlier promise. "Weren't you going to play your song for me?" Draco cocked his head at her with a what-do-you-mean look on his face. "The song you were writing earlier?" "O, right. That song. OK, just let me run up an get my guitar. Draco returned a minute later with his instrument under his arm and a few pieces of paper grasped in his hands. "OK, it's not that good. But, here goes.

_I used to think _

_That I had the perfect life _

_I used to think _

_That I had everything _

_But now, now that I look back _

_On everything I thought I had _

_I realized all I had _

_Was fragments of me  
  
Take a good look at me _

_Tell me what you see _

_Cause all I'll ever be _

_Is a fragment of me _

_I wish that I could show _

_What it's like to know _

_That you can never be _

_What you want to be _

_And all I'll ever be in your eyes _

_Is a fragment of the me inside  
  
I couldn't show _

_What I felt inside _

_I couldn't show _

_How much it hurt _

_I couldn't show _

_Anything at all _

_All I could show _

_Was fragments of me  
  
Take a good look at me _

_Tell me what you see _

_Cause all I'll ever be _

_Is a fragment of me _

_I wish that I could show _

_What it's like to know _

_That you can never be _

_What you want to be _

_And all I'll ever be in your eyes _

_Is a fragment of the me inside  
  
I'm sitting here _

_Broken inside _

_I'm laying here _

_In pieces _

_I'm standing here all alone _

_Cause I could never show _

_Anything more than fragments  
  
Take a good look at me _

_Tell me what you see _

_Cause all I'll ever be _

_Is a fragment of me _

_I wish that I could show _

_What it's like to know _

_That you can never be _

_What you want to be _

_And all I'll ever be in your eyes _

_Is a fragment of the me inside  
  
Fragments _

_Of who I really am _

_Pieces of who I truly am _

_Only a glimpse _

_Of what I'm really like _

_All I'll ever be in your eyes_

_ Is a piece _

_Is a glimpse _

_Just a fragment _

_Of who I am inside"_  
  
Hermione sat there with tears filling her eyes. "Draco, that was...amazing." The brunette stood from her place on the couch and walked to where Draco was sitting. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug and whispered "I love you, Draco Malfoy." in his ear.

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A/N: PLEASE review. I'll take the good bad and the ugly...o, and Draco's song "Fragments of Me" was written by me. Tell me waht you think of it when you review. Love yaz! 

Jackie


	9. Revenge is Sweet

A/N: OMG! I am so sorry it's taken me this long to update!! I promise I won't do that again. Ok, this chapter isn't going to have Draco and Hermione in it. I'm sorry, but a couple other characters need some time in the limelight. And I need to introduce you all to a character who will be very important in following chapters. Sorry again about no Draco and Hermione, but this really needs to be done now before I forget to do it. Love you all for reading this and please, please, please review!

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, any characters I create, and my own twisted ideas. Everything else belongs to the amazingly talented J. K. Rowling.

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The One I'll Always Love

Chapter 9: Revenge is Sweet

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Harry sighed as he watched the clock. In ten minutes, Pansy Parkinson, the whore of Hogwarts, would be walking through the door of Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry couldn't believe he had agreed to along with this plan. If Hermione found out he was behind all of this, she would never forgive him.  
'So why are you doing this to her?' he thought to himself.

"Because I refuse to sit back and watch Malfoy break her heart. Just like he's done to every other girl who falls for him. What a creep!" he answered his own question aloud.  
Vernon Dursley looked up from his paper. One of 'them' would be walking through his door any second. And his nephew was talking to himself again.

"What are you saying boy? Are you losing your head?"  
Harry looked around startled. He had forgotten his uncle was even in the room.

"N-no Uncle. Just thinking."  
Vernon made a sound of disgust before turning back to the newspaper in front of him.  
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Harry jumped up to get to the door, but Dudley reached it first.

"Hello. And you are...?" came Pansy's voice from the front step.

"D-d-dudley D-d-dursley." he stammered. Pansy rolled her eyes and step into the immaculately clean house.

"Ahh, Harry, darling! There you are! Now, shall we proceed to your room and get down to business?" Pansy asked, a smirk not unlike Draco Malfoy's playing about her lips. Harry rolled his eyes. He would get quite the talking to from his aunt and uncle after the girl left.  
'"...shall we proceed to your room and get down to business?" That girl has no subtlety!' Harry thought to himself angrily.  
The Dursley's watched closely as Harry followed the girl upstairs.

"Vernon! I don not want them upstairs without one of us there! We have no idea what they might do! And I do not want to have to do that boy's...erm...dirty laundry." shouted Harry's Aunt Petunia.  
Vernon sighed and looked towards the steps. 'That boy is going to have some serious explaining to do when that little whore leaves.' he thought to himself. Upstairs, Pansy was making herself at home, stretching out on Harry's bed. She wrinkled her nose in disgust when she saw the Gryffindor colors displayed proudly on the walls of her partner in revenge.

"Harry, darling. Why don't we start working on putting my plan into use. I've got plenty of dirt on Draco and you must have something on Miss Know-it-all." Harry closed the door behind him as he entered the room.

"Of course I do. But, uh, couldn't we just use what you have on Draco? Wouldn't that work well enough to break them up?"  
Pansy looked at Harry like he was the stupidest creature on earth.

"Of course it would. But it wouldn't make him hate her too, now would it? We need both of them to hate each other. Otherwise, there might be a chance of them getting back together. And we can't have that. What if Draco had the chance to explain to the girl why he did those things? She might again choose him over you. If they both feel hate towards the other one, chances are they will stop speaking to each other all together."  
Pansy paused for a second to catch her breath and let her logic sink into Harry's brain.

"When we first agreed to this, we decided it would be best for both of them to hate the other, just like they did back in first year. They hardly spoke then. And you had Hermione all to yourself."  
Harry nodded as Pansy's plan spread itself out in front of him. He couldn't deny there was a certain degree of logic to it. 'But I never had her all to myself. And technically, it was me and Ron who hated him in first year, she just didn't like him.' Harry's conscience argued.

"Alright. But you go first. I'm not going to tell you a lot of shit about Mione just to have you rush off without saying a word about Draco." Harry said quietly.  
Pansy looked up, malice sparkling in her eyes.

"But Mr. Potter, how do I know you won't do that to me?" She quipped with feigned innocence.

"I'm a Gryffindor. Gryffindor's don't lie and cheat like that." Harry answered back darkly.  
Pansy shrugged.

"Fine, whatever. I still don't trust you. But I want Draco back more than anything. So let's get started. Oo, revenge is sweet!"

Many miles away at Hogwarts...

"Harry, why can't you just let them be happy? Miss Parkinson and yourself should just let go and let live." Professor Dumbledore muttered as he stared out the window. The sun had just gone down and the sky was turning darker by the minute.

"Albus? Are you in here?" came a low female voice.  
Dumbledore turned around so that he was facing his desk instead of the window.

"Yes. Come in Rebecca."  
Rebecca walked into the room. A tall woman, she looked as though she couldn't be more than early twenties. She had long red hair that fell down her back, piercing turquoise eyes, and very pale skin. Her face held no wrinkles and it looked as if she hadn't smiled in at least the last 10 years.

"Albus, do you mind closing the window? I'd rather not be seen or overheard. Besides, the sun has only just gone down. I must admit I didn't plan to arise this early." she murmured.  
Dumbledore quickly closed the drapes surrounding the tall window.

"I'm sorry Becky. I forgot. How are you this evening? I wasn't expecting you for another week at least."

"Ahh, well, my erm, other plans didn't go as originally scheduled. So I came here. When my favorite godson called, how could I turn him down?"  
Dumbledore smiled. Seeing Rebecca after all these long years gave him hope.

"So, Becky, you're probably wondering why you're here. I need your services again. I know I told you back in the days of Grindelwald that you wouldn't ever need to do this again. I'm terribly sorry. But, I'm worried this will have the same outcome without your help. I can't have my students unprepared should the need to fight arise. I have also contacted Cassiopeia Malfoy. Please, I need you to teach my sixth and seventh years how to do wandless magic." Albus paused, looking at Rebecca with hope in his eyes.  
Rebecca pondered the request.

"Alright. For you. And because I can't stand my great-great-whatever nephew Tom. He needs to be stopped."

"Thank you Becky, thank you so much."  
Rebecca smiled slightly, revealing two pointed fangs hiding just below her lip. She gasped as a thought entered her head.

"But what about my condition? Surely it will not be accepted? I don't want you to have to go through another Lupin-esque ordeal."

"The students and faculty will be informed and proper precautions will be taken. Vampires are very powerful. And no amount of letters from worried parents, petrified Ministry members, or horrified Daily Prophet reader's will make me turn you away form my doorstep. We need you as an ally in this war, Rebecca. No matter what."  
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door to Dumbledore's study. Professor Minerva McGonagall walked in with her usual brusque manner.

"Albus, we need you down in the teacher's Lounge. O, hello Ms. Slytherin. It is wonderful to see you again. Albus told me you were coming, but not until next week. I'll go have the house elves make up your office for you."  
Rebecca laughed.

"O, it is good to see Minerva again. Last time I saw her was in 1945. She works here now as well?"  
Albus nodded. "Transfiguration professor, head of Gryffindor house and deputy Headmistress. We're all very proud of her. As I remember, none of us ever expected this from her all those long years ago. In trouble every other day. But her grades were always superb. Prefect, Head Girl, class valedictorian. She's quite like another student here now. Hermione Granger."  
Rebecca looked up startled.

"G-granger? As in...?"

"Yes, but she has no idea. And it's not up to me to tell her. She needs to find it out by herself. Well, I should probably go down to the teacher's lounge and see what they want. Care to join me?" Rebecca nodded and walked towards the door.

"O, wait a minute Becky, today's your birthday isn't it? Now, let me see...is it 900 this year?"  
The tall vampire nodded. 'My, how time flies.'

"Alright, let's get on downstairs Albus. This will be the perfect time to introduce me to the other teachers."

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A/N: Well, there you have it. I've introduced Rebecca, shown you all a little more into Pansy and Harry's plan for revenge, and given you a little insight into what will happen later. Sorry for a short post...but it's not too short, is it? Love you all and please review!!

XOXO - Jackie


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